California fires: aid from Mexico as Trump prepares border closure

As 70 Mexican firefighters join the fight against the flames, the president-elect plans border closures

California continues to battle the devastating fires burning in Los Angeles County. To help the 14,000 firefighters already on the ground, some seventy firefighters from Mexico have arrived. The announcement was made by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who expressed gratitude for the support of his Mexican neighbours in a video. The new reinforcements have been sent to the Noble Creek base of operations, ready to be deployed on the fire front.

However, as the help of the Mexican firefighters is welcomed, another piece of news shakes the US. The New York Times reported that President-elect Donald Trump is planning to close the border with Mexico, citing a ‘public health emergency’ related to unspecified diseases that he claims are brought by immigrants. Trump’s plan, which has already been in the pipeline for months, would include the border authorities’ search for evidence to support his claim.

Already during the election campaign, Trump had promised to counter what he called an ‘invasion’ of migrants, announcing the ‘largest deportation in US history’. Closing the borders, according to the tycoon, would be the first step in tackling what he describes as an illegal immigration crisis.

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(Photo: © AndKronos)